The Melody Web what each genre heard, and what it passed on

heard passed on Click or tap a node to recenter. Use a connecting line, or Influence, for the story.

Heard

Hip-hop genre · 1973–

Crunk is hip-hop’s Atlanta/Memphis shout-and-808 child: same MC and mixtape market, a chant-led club dialect.

Influence
Miami bass style · 1985–

Crunk keeps Miami bass’s booming 808 and chanted club hook and slows it for Atlanta.

Influence

Crunk

style · 1997–

Kind of Hip-hop

Late-1990s–2000s Atlanta and Memphis club rap: shouted chants, a booming 808, and a hyped dance floor (Lil Jon, Crime Mob). It is a style of hip-hop. Miami bass is the club-bass parent; the hop into Trap is the Atlanta street-and-club afterlife; Snap is the thinned mid-2000s dance recoding. Chart landings are crunk pop. Memphis rap leftover as a sibling hinge (already in the miami-bass hop). Hyphy leftover as a Bay Area sibling. Southern rap remains a leftover bin.

Listen

  1. Get Low Lil Jon and the East Side Boyz (2002) YouTube · Spotify · Amazon
  2. Yeah! Usher feat. Lil Jon and Ludacris (2004) YouTube · Spotify
  3. Knuck If You Buck Crime Mob (2004) YouTube · Spotify · Amazon
  4. Salt Shaker Ying Yang Twins (2003) YouTube · Spotify · Amazon
  5. Who U Wit? Lil Jon and the East Side Boyz (1997) YouTube · Spotify · Amazon

Passed on

Pop genre · 1958–

Mid-2000s pop takes crunk’s shouted chant and booming 808 as a chart-single dialect (Lil Jon).

Influence
Snap style · 2005–2009

Snap keeps crunk’s Atlanta club chant and 808 and thins them to a snap-on-two-and-four dance grid.

Influence
Trap style · 2003–

Trap keeps crunk’s Atlanta 808 and club shout and darkens the synth bed for street mixtapes.

Influence

Hip-hop → Crunk

performance practicemeter and groovefunction and contextstrength: highscholarly consensus1997–2004recordingoralradio

Mechanism

Crunk is hip-hop’s Atlanta/Memphis shout-and-808 child: same MC and mixtape market, a chant-led club dialect. Strength high. Miami bass is the local beat parent. Southern rap stays a leftover bin.

Evidence

Lil Jon, Three 6 Mafia, and 2003–05 radio peak (Starr, Grove).

Debate

Whether crunk is only a party tag. The named Atlanta/Memphis school makes a node.

Mediators

artist: Lil Jon

Miami bass → Crunk

meter and groovetimbre and productionfunction and contextstrength: mediumwell documented1997–2004recordingradiodance

Mechanism

Crunk keeps Miami bass’s booming 808 and chanted club hook and slows it for Atlanta. Strength medium. Hip-hop is the umbrella; this hop is the Southern club 808.

Evidence

Lil Jon–era chants against 1990s booty-bass 12-inches; Starr on that Southern club line.

Debate

Whether Memphis crunk is a second parent. Memphis is a sibling hinge; this hop is the Miami 808 share.

Mediators

artist: Lil Jon

Crunk → Pop

meter and grooveperformance practiceform and structurestrength: highwell documented2003–2005recordingradio

Mechanism

Mid-2000s pop takes crunk’s shouted chant and booming 808 as a chart-single dialect (Lil Jon). Strength high. crunk trap remains the Atlanta street afterlife; this file is the radio recoding.

Evidence

Get Low and Yeah! (Starr, Grove).

Debate

Whether Yeah! is already dance-pop. The chant-and-808 job is crunk’s; the Usher singles factory is pop’s.

Mediators

artist: Lil Jon

Crunk → Snap

meter and grooveperformance practicefunction and contextstrength: highscholarly consensus2005–2007recordingdanceradio

Mechanism

Snap keeps crunk’s Atlanta club chant and 808 and thins them to a snap-on-two-and-four dance grid. Strength high. Hip-hop as an umbrella parent is hip hop snap; this hop is the local crunk afterlife.

Evidence

D4L / Dem Franchize Boyz against Lil Jon-era crunk (Grove, Starr).

Debate

Whether this is already crunk. The club shout is crunk’s; the ringtone-thin snap beat is snap’s.

Mediators

artist: Dem Franchize Boyz

Crunk → Trap

meter and groovetimbre and productionfunction and contextstrength: highwell documented2003–2008recordingoralradio

Mechanism

Trap keeps crunk’s Atlanta 808 and club shout and darkens the synth bed for street mixtapes. Strength high. Hip-hop is the umbrella parent; this hop is the local club school. T.I.’s early-2000s records are the usual hinge.

Evidence

Trap Muzik (2003) against Lil Jon–era club sides; Starr and Grove on that Atlanta succession.

Debate

Whether trap is only a beat update of crunk. The mixtape street voice and the sliding 808 bass make a named later school.

Mediators

artist: T.I.; artist: Lil Jon